Dalí, Basquiat and other great artists’ amusement park reopens in Los Angeles

From Hamburg to California, Luna Luna, born in the 1980s from the imaginations of some of the most relevant artists of the time, is reborn thanks to rapper Drake.

Fairground view: Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987. Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Painted Ferris wheel. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987. Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Keith Haring, Painted carousel. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987. Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

David Hockney, Enchanted Tree, and Keith Haring, Painted carousel. Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, Los Angeles, CA, 2023. Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Performers with Jean-Michel Basquiat's Painted Ferris wheel with music. Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, Los Angeles, CA, 2023. Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Created in Hamburg in 1987 by some of the most famous artists of the time, the art carnival Luna Luna has been resurrected by musician Drake in Los Angeles, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, and can be visited.

The attraction park features a Ferris wheel designed by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a carousel by Keith Haring with his unmistakable figures serving as seats, one by Arik Brauer, another decorated by Kenny Scharf, an installation by David Hockney (Enchanted Tree), a glass labyrinth by Roy Lichtenstein, and a mirrored geodesic dome by Salvador Dalí. It also includes a wedding chapel by André Heller – who came up with the concept of the park – inviting guests to marry “whomever or whatever they want”, an attraction by Manfred Deix called The Palace of the Winds, featuring a video of the odd “fart orchestra” that played at the amusement park.

The rides spin to the rhythm of music composed by Daniel Wohl, but are off-limits, both to preserve them as works of art and because they were not built to current safety standards.. Luna Luna: A Forgotten Fantasy – as the project has been renamed – is expected to remain open until spring.

Fairground view: Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987.

Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Painted Ferris wheel. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987.

Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Keith Haring, Painted carousel. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987.

Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

David Hockney, Enchanted Tree, and Keith Haring, Painted carousel. Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, Los Angeles, CA, 2023.

Image courtesy of Luna Luna.

Performers with Jean-Michel Basquiat's Painted Ferris wheel with music. Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, Los Angeles, CA, 2023.

Image courtesy of Luna Luna.